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Coyote with .17HMR

13K views 105 replies 42 participants last post by  Blakeinator 
#1 ·
has anyone hunted coyote yet with the .17hmr. I was thinking about trying it and was wondering if anyone had any experience with it. Thanks for any information.
 
#3 ·
I hit one, perfect vitals shot from about 100 yards with the 17gr V-max. I heard the hit too, whack! Bang flop! He hit the ground like a sack of potatos. Then he started moving, then he jumped up yelping and started trotting off. I was caught off guard thinking he was a goner already, so I turned and fired a few shots in haste, and he disappeared into the sage. I tried to track him but with no luck.

The 20gr STX bullets would do better.
 
#5 ·
coyote hunting

I have used the hornady 20 grainers and I have taken 5 coyotes with them so far.I have only had one get up and limp off. the farthest i have killied one is 110 yards. The bullet had pretty good penetration, but if it hits bone first you might need a follow up shot.
 
#6 ·
I intend to try again with the 20gr bullets some time. The only reason I used the 17gr V-max was because this was about 20 months ago, when these guns and ammo types were new and there was little or no information on how it would perform. The 20gr bullets didn't even exist. Now there are lots of folks out there with personal experience.
 
#7 · (Edited)
Stiff neck,actually past about 75 yards or so, even the 17g Vmax bullets have slowed down enough that they begin to penetrate AND expand on game.
I would have no problem putting a 17g Vmax form a 17HMR on a Coyotes ribs cage at 75 to about 125 yards. At those distances they should hold together fine for lung shots.

I would not shoot ANY Coyote on the shoulder with any .22magnum or 17HMR mag load made-not enough penetratation and power..

The whole problem with the 17g slugs up close is NOT one solely of bullet weght or construction but those two factors combined with higher impact velocites and RPMS..

I have seen out of the same box of Vmax ammo slugs nearly blow up on a Jackrabbits shoulder at 30 yards and yet fold up Jacks with one shot at nearly 200yards!!

On the close range hits,the rabbits actually died a bit slower since the penetration simply was not there.The on side shoulder was always destroyed .Yet as the range increased, the 17G slugs still expanded well due to adequate velocites and RPMS yet they penetrated a LOT more than you would think since they wewre not coming apart.

The 150 to 200 yard + JackRabbits I have seen hit with the Vmax loads here in Kansas simple topple over and die when they are hit solidly.It is rather impressive.
 
#8 ·
On another board the discussion came up about bullet performance on coyotes, they are tough animals. The topic was, 40gr v-max ( I think it was v-max, may have been b-tip) at 223/22-250 velocity people were complaining that the 40gr bullets were exploding on impact, such as a shoulder shot when hitting bone etc.

just some food for thought

Clint
 
#9 ·
Even a 223 or 22-250 55gr V-max/BT on a coyote shoulder is bad news. Those bullets just don't get thru shoulders very well for the most part. They tend to splash on big bones and anybody who's done it knows that you may loose that dog as it runs off. Sure, it'll die in the brush somewhere, but you'll never find it.

I would have no problem putting a 17g Vmax form a 17HMR on a Coyotes shoulder at 75 to about 125 yards
That's just plain crazy. Try posting that on any coyote hunting forum and watch the results. NOBODY is comfortable putting a 223 V-max on a coyote's shoulder, why would a smaller, slower bullet be ok? Crazy!
 
#10 ·
Heads or nothing... and learn to shoot it. If you can get or make a target that is coyote sized attempt shots at it from field posistions. To make it interesting put it behind bushes, in grass, anywhere where you've seen the coyote messing around, and try shooting it. You could even mess around by shooting on nice cold windy days and see how you're hitting those headshots.

I had a groundhog survive a v-max that hit a corn husk inches before impact. Sometimes you just cannot predict what is going to happen, that little bit of corn which i couldn't even see got mutilated but the chuck needed another hit to go down. I cut it open, a fragment ended up in its neck... Wouldn't have fazed a coyote.
 
#12 ·
ive popped crows, doves and rabbits with it so far. the v max just knocks the crows down for a second for them to get up fly and drop. or they just blow them up into a feather bomb. the doves are worthless. nothing left but coyote bait. and rabbits. well. ...... a meatwad within 100 yards. theyre almost like grenades
 
#13 ·
sighted in,

your first post and another can of worms that has been hashed over a couple of times, but still a good que as some will try to take a yote with whatever is handy. how many of us carries two guns in da rig while riding around. how many of us actually expect to see a yote while riding around. think these guys are actually hunting them on purpose, like using calling devices, etc. have seen them on occasion and they are faster than a late am trak train. never tried to shoot at one but would if i could as they are predatory scavengers and wreak havoc on the bird population.
got all the rimfires, but think i would use the 22 mag if it was with me. if i had the 17 hmr, would use that. depends. as i said and dont want to add fuel to the fire, would try whatever i had in the rig.








 
#14 ·
Rant on.

Yes, you can kill coyotes with the 17 hmr...but that doesn't make it a very effective caliber for that particular job. It's too little gun for anyone who is at all concerned with quick, clean kills unless you are willing to wait for the perfect shot and can guarantee perfect shot placement. I'm sure you could kill Cape Buffalo with it, too...but I bet you won't find many guys going on safari in Africa with that in mind.

I love the 17 hmr...great fun to shoot and superb accuracy from a rimfire...no appreciable recoil. Super. But it isn't enough gun for larger, tougher animals.

Rant off.

hunter20ga
 
#17 · (Edited)
Stiff neck,I made a mistake in my first post.I MEANT to write a Coyotes rib cage-not shoulder.I corrected the post.You will see later I also worded it differntly.

I use a 22-250 on Coyotes ,too(have for about 20+ years) FWIW I do not cinsider the .22mag to be any better of a Coyote round than the 17HMR,They both are lacking in power for the job and must be placed precisely.

And yes I feel that past 75 yards the 17G Vmax has slowed down enough that it expands slowly enough for rib cage hits on a Coyote.
It's as good as a .22mag in that instance and likely the dog will run quite a ways before expiring when hit with ANY rimfire round in the lungs.

I like to see Coyotes DROP where they were hit even with lung shots. The 22-250 generally NAILS THEM right there with a solid hit.In my book,a good Coyote rifle is powerfull enough for sure kills when there is still HAIR floating around in the air when you walk over to pick it up. :D

BTW,I have never lost a Coyote or had any penetration problems with shoulder shots when using 50-55 g Hornady V max slugs in my 22-250.
 
#18 · (Edited)
Howdy RimfireCentral...

Hi Rimfire Central,

Came lookin for info on .17hmrs, specifically semi-auto, cheaper, and or, lighter than my current CZ Varmint .17hmr.

Didn't take long to find this post ;). Anyhow, i'm an avid coyote hunter and get after them as much as i can. I typically call for them and hunt with my Tikka T3 Lite in .243, but i also take many in what i call 'acreage country'. My parents have 26 acres in 'acreage country' that routinely has coyote trouble. We used to take em inside 50 yrds with the .22lr, one of my biggest came that way btw...a 38 lb male with a double tap from Dad's old Winchester Model 63 with CCI Stingers, one low just behind front leg and one in the neck. That coyote did a 50 yrd runner before piling up.

Well we've put a bunch more of em down since i got the .17 hmr as the range has been extended and my calling skills have improved.

Before anyone gets worked up...i call this round a 'niche' round for coyote 'pest' control...in an area not condusive to centerfire due to proximity of neighbors etc. Not really a 'hunting' round imo. And it kills them just fine if you know what your limits are...and the rounds limits. I only shoot them standing still and i always go for the largest vitals area(lungs/heart)...because it is the biggest and most reliable kill zone. I do a lot of bowhunting and thats the name of the game. I hit one coyote in the jaw with a .22 going for a head hit and had i gone for lungs he would prolly have been dead within 50 yrds. I'd rather them do a 30-50 yrd runner and die than go for the instant glory and screw it up, but thats me.

So far i'm 100 % on them. The've all been shot between 43(monday night) and 110ish yrds. About half of them have been bang flops, the rest are usually 30 yrd runners with the longest runners not getting further than 50 yrds. I use the .17 grain hornady ammo btw. So now i will describe the performance i've experienced.

First coyote my gun killed was when my buddy bought the gun and he shot one in the liver at approx. 90 yrds, it ran 60 and laid down and died slower than one would like but it was recoverable in a few minutes. I later bought the gun from him and i've had nothing but essentially instant kills...if you call a double lung with runner and instant kill...i do...well maybe its should be more like 'reliable' kills instead. Anyhow, i'll go on...

My first was a 31 lb mature female at 80-90 yrds facing me, i hit her in the neck and all the legs just kicked out and she landed on her bum and fell over(the mate of the 38 lb male i shot with the .22 earlier). Second one, same day btw, was about 100 yrds broadside, perfect behind the shoulder, centered up and down on torso about 3" back from leg. Coyote was on a side hill opposite me and was on his back biting side to side and slid 10' down the hill done. No exit on either. The broadside one was about a 28 lb 2 yr old male and just a pin prick entrance wound and on the opposite side just under the hide was about a 4-5" circle of black jelly, no exit. So his vitals were destroyed about as perfect as can be. I shot another younger dog from an elevated position and placed it somewhat between the shoulderblades but just up a bit towards the neck and it was a bang flop into the ground with the tail spinning. No exit. There's more...

I shot another at 90 yrds quartering away, splashed a bit on the rib opening up an 1 1/2" entrance but still went up into the lungs, that one did about a 50 yrd runner tops, no exit.

I took my girlfriend with me on good friday this year and called in a whopper male, had to be 40 lbs, to 60 yrds and sat down facing me. I center chest shot him and he let out a beller but it faded almost immediatley because he had no lungs, he made it 30 yrds, no exit obviously. Next stand a mile away brought in a pup to 50 yrds where i barked to stop it for the broadside shot, pin prick in and there was sign of a pin prick exit also, coyote did a 30-40 yrd runner. See pics of them both coming up.

Then on monday night this week i called another nice male into about 30 yrds turned and he stopped broadside at 43 yrds to take a double lung and he had an exit on the other side a little bigger than the entrance, he did a 50 yrd runner. Biggest exit i've had has been on the closest coyote on a double lung...and this was no small dog, you'll see. Pics of him coming up too.

All of this done with .17 grain hornady ammo btw, so thought yall would find some of this info useful, and or, interesting? I agree with the guy on 75-125 in the ribcage and getting reliable penetration/expansion etc. and my evidence is showing exits the once the start getting it 50 yrds or less on broadside double lungs. Okay, here come the pics...we'll see how many i can fit in one post i suppose.

Here is the big male from good friday, 40 lb estimate, wait till you see his ole choppers
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90486757.jpg

Here's his choppers
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90486957.jpg

Here is the little pup i called just after him
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/90487375.jpg

Here is the nice male i called on monday
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254772.jpg

Here he is again, me setting camera on back of truck using the timer, second try...i smiled this time, ha.
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254889.jpg

I figure him to be about 3 yrs old ish? His choppers are wearing but nothing like the big boy above
http://pic10.picturetrail.com/VOL326/824048/6646511/95254986.jpg

For the record, i no way intend to start any trouble, just presenting my experience with .17 hmr as a 'niche' 'pest' round for 'acreage' country.

Blake

Currently i'd like to get a lighter, maybe semi-auto and put a red dot such as an eotech for this purpose. I could almost do this with a shotgun but the noise factor and the fact i like to be able to go 100 plus yrds make the .17 hmr still the number one choice for this niche. I don't shoot ground squirrel much anymore with .17hmr because its too expensive so i don't need a reticle to place finely on a tiny rat at 100 yrds etc. A quick handling semi auto with a red dot that's still reasonably accurate for .17 hmr standards(which are high) would prolly fit the bill better i'm thinkin. I'll be searching that out shortly as that's kinda why i joined up.

Moderator's note: Pictures changed to urls. Please read forum rules about posting pictures depicting hunting kills
 
#19 ·
Great post Blakinator. I purchased my .17 HMR last fall and love it. After seeing how well it shot I started using it when calling coyotes. I felt it would be adequate and wanted to find out for myself how it would do on coyotes because of all the conflicting opinions on the subject. Like Blakinator I've had some great results.....
Coyote #1: 25 yards, head on, center chest shot placement, bang flop, 17 gr. TNT bullet.

Coyote #2: 25 yards, broadside, lung shot, did about 3 patented coyote spins and flopped right there, 17 gr. TNT bullet.

Coyote #3: 70 yards, quartering away, lung shot, bang flop, 17 gr. V max.

Coyote #4: 15 yards, broadside running, lung shot, made it about 10 yards and flopped, 17 gr V max.

Coyote #5: 64 yards, quartering away, lung shot, couple of spins and flopped, 17 gr. V max.

Coyote #6: 66 yards, quartering forward, shot placed just in front of the shoulder, bang flop, 20 gr. XTP.

The results speak for themselves. I would have liked to try to shoot one a little farther out but never got a shot longer than 70 yards. I hunt in open country and my average shot on called coyotes is about 50 yards no matter how open the terrain. For me the little Hummer works great on yotes.
 
#20 ·
Thanks utahheadgear. Nice work.

Agree with you, I almost treat it like bowhunting with the .17 hmr, wait for the right shot opportunity and make good on it. Put it in the vitals and they die in acceptable time frames. I've tagged out on deer with my bow last two years(4 each year) and its same thing. Take out the vitals and you won't find them very far away at all. Would the .17 hmr make a good gun for running shots at coyotes where you may need to get through bone etc....no. So i don't use it like that. With my .243 though its a different story, i'll take any shot at any angle. For deer with my bow i can't do that, but i could with a 30-06. Its just like anything, knowing what you can do and what the round can do and it works very well. Its not what i call a great all round coyote round...to me its kind of like bowhunting for coyotes but with an extended range and i don't have to try and draw on em first :D .

B :t
 
#22 ·
My take on the perfect coyote rifle

I use a 260 Remington, I have one in VLS, also I bought one just for yotes and deer, walk about rifle, rem lss mtn rifle. 95gr v-max= put em down factor

I have a 7mm-08 to try also, but new baby=no time for play

Clint
 
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